Vehicle-wheel.



No. 892,294. PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

J. NICHOLSON.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24,1907.

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,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH NICHOLSON, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent. 7 'Patented'June 30, 1908.

Application filed May 24, 1907. Serial No. 375,428.

To all whom it "may concern:

Be it known that I, JosEPH NwnoLsoN, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Boston, inthe county of- Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have inventedcertain new and useful Im rovements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which theollow:

'ing is a full, clear, and exact description.

, and running gear of the vehicle.

To this end, my invention consists essen tially in the construction ofnew and improved means for resiliently sufpporting a wheel within acomparatively in exible rim or tire.

Referring to the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1is a side elevation of a vehicle wheel embodyingmy invention. Fig. 2 isa side elevation on a larger scale of a portion of the wheel rim andtire, with parts thereof broken'away. 'Fig. 3 is-a cross section'thereof on the line X--X in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a pore )ective'view of oneof the s rin sockets. Fig. 5 is a cross section of a sli 'htiy modifiedform of the invention. he wheel 1 is formed with spokes 2 and rim 3 ofsubstantially the usual construction,

preferably of the so-called artillery type.

On each side of the rim is located a thin metallic flange 10, a section11 of which is flat and adapted to slidably contact with such rim-sides;while the section 12 is designed to swell outwardly and rise above saidrim Beyond said swelling or bel led section is the flange proper 13adapted to receive between the same the rubber tire or cushion 15. Ingrooves 17 j ust. between the juncture of the bellied sections and'flanes proper, are located the edges of the annu ar plate 20 composing theseat for said tire; the flanges being strongly bound together by bolts21 penetrating the same immediately exterior-to the annular plate 20. Byhaving such bolts exterior to said plate and located in notches 16 insaid tire, the lat ter is prevented thereby from creeping.

Between the annular plate 20 and the 'wheel rim are placed numerousradially arranged spiral springs 25; the SIZB of WIIB' from which theyare manufactured, and the closeness together with which they are 10-cated de ending u on the weight of the vehicle and its load or which thewheel is designed. These springs are held in place by means of sockets30 fastened to the wheel rim; such sockets being each preferably struckup from a square of sheet metal,'having u turned corners 31 suitablinclosing enoug of the spring 25 to hold tie latter in.

place. These sockets may be either riveted or otherwise fixed to thewheel rim.

The springs 25 are shown in the drawings as nearly equal in height totheir diameter; but they should be much larger in diameter to theirnormal height in order to insure against'their being overturned; or thesides of the sockets should be sufficiently higher phlan shown to insureagainst the same possi- )1 1t Fr om the inner edges of the flat sections11 and preferably formed integral therewith;

are several projections 4, each pair carrying between them a couple ofrolls 40 each suitably mounted on a bolt 41 penetratin such arts. l achroll is either covered wit er, or f rmed entirely of rubber 42 incasin ametalli shell or sleeve 43 turning on sai bolt. The object of theseprojections and rolls is tliree-fold: first, to bind together the inneredges of the shells or flanges l0 second,

to prevent the movable parts from moving too faixraldialy at any time ofunusual stress, and thereby unduly compressing the springs 25 at theunderside of the wheel, and erha s allowing the springs at the upper sieto e so released of compression as to snap out of place. This securityagainst undue centrifugal displacement is provided by the engagement ofthelrplls 40 with the inner surface of the rim 31 The third functionperformed b said rolls is to prevent the cree ing whic would otherwiseoccur between t e rim and tire. Now, however, the rolls 40 come in contctwith the s okes 2 behind them, and, so firmly hold the sii whil stillpermitting the freedom of s iding. action between the said shells andrim 3.

By having said rolls rubber covered, the wooc en spokes and the rim arekept fromthe rubell 1'0 and rim 15 in lace,"

injury thereto which might be caused were the rollsi of some hardermaterial. Further,

the arrangement is rendered noiselessin action.

, As is evident, the shells 10 and the em .during the travel of thevehicle provided movements are COl'llblIlalllOllS Of to cover the latterwith a metallic shield 6,

with these Wheels; at every instant the relative movement at a pointabove the center being radial, as well as that directly below thecenter, while the points at the same level as the Wheel center have arelative tangential movement.

these in var in r0 ortions.

TX) rgli zeve the wear which might otherwise occur between the flatshell-sections '11 and the surfaces of the wooden rim 3,1 prefer asshown in 2. I prefer to form these shields from angle iron, having thelonger member of each cover the lateral face of the rim, while theshorter members thereof cover the peripheral surface of the rim. Byhaving these shorter members fixed to the rim, as by the same rivets orscrews as those which hold the sockets 30 in place, and

having the longer members slightly resilient and tending to be ressedapart into closer engagementwlth t e inner surfaces of theshell-sections 1]., a thoroughly water-tight juncture is therebyefi'ected, in order to insure against the access of water to the spacebe tween the rim and tire. At the same time, all rattling between theshell and rim is pre vented, while the first named anti-wearing functionis not in any way interfered with.

1f desired, a pneumatic inner tube 26 may be substituted for the springs25 above dc,- scribedg a crescent-shaped leather shield 27 being locatedbetween such inner tube and the periphery of the rim 3 in order toinsure against possible pinching or'wear upon such tube caused by theshdmg action between the shells and the rim. Should such tubc becomemore or less deflated, a fold could otherwise easily form at thejuncture of a shell and the rim and be instantly shorn throu h and thetube ruined as the Wheel revolve At other points, the relative seazee Iprefer to make the shells from sheet meta stamped or pressed into theform described, in order that its weight shall be comparatively nothinand the expense of its production very s i ht. I have shown the shellsin Fig. .3 as bellied at 12, but where the coiled springs 25 are usedfor the resilient means, the shells can be made substantially 5 flat;but such swelling enables any purchaser to readily substitute the innertube 26 for the springs 25, should he at any time so desire; it adds ti}the ornate appearance of the wheel, and,,,more important still,considerably increases the strength of the shell in resisting torsionalstrains applied to the tire.

What I claim as my invention and for which I desire Letters Patent is asfollows,-to

wit;- v 1. The combination with a Wheel, of a pair of shells slidablycontacting with the lateral faces of the-rim of said wheel, a cushiontire held by said shells, resilient means between said rim and tire, androlls connected with said shells and adapted by their engagement withthe rim and spokes of the wheel to limit the play of said shells 2. Thecombination with a wheel, of a pair of shells slidably contacting withthe lateral faces of the rim of said wheel, a cushion the held by saidshells, resilient means between said tire and rim, projections from theinner edges of said shells, and rubber covered rolls rotatably supportedbetween said projections at suitable distances from the rim and thespokes of the wheel In testimony that I claim the foregoing invention, Ihave hereunto set my hand this 21st day of May, 1907.

JOSEPH NioHoLsoN.

Witnesses:

GEoRGE B. SAWTELLE, A. B. UPHAM.

